Machine learning technology that enables real-time hand hygiene notification can help improve compliance in outpatient settings, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

Researchers created an infrared-guided sensor system that automatically notified clinicians to perform hand hygiene right before their first contact with the patient. They compared hand hygiene compliance prior to implementation of the notification system and after. They also examined compliance when the system provided auditory notifications that continued till hand hygiene was performed and when notifications lasted 15 seconds.

The study shows average baseline hand hygiene performance prior to first patient contact was 53.8 percent. Overall hand hygiene compliance increased to 100 percent when the system provided notifications that continued; and it increased to 80.4% when the system's notifications lasted 15 seconds.

The annual cost of using the machine learning system was estimated to be 46 percent lower than an observational hand hygiene program.